Beat Laments the World
by Desi The Moon Bear
Summary: Exorcists: hand-picked by God to defeat the forces of darkness, the akuma. The Heart of all innocence can make the war end, one side ending it with peace, and another ending it with violence and darkness. Only one side will win...countless will fall.
1. Chapter 1

"Why the hell hasn't anyone come to get us?"

"A-A-Achoo! Damn it; it's cold!"

And there's how we've been for the past week. We got deployed to northern Russia about three weeks ago. We had finished our mission in a week, but then there was a snowstorm. And another snowstorm. And yet another, and it was right when there was an akuma attack! We all had fought against a sizeable platoon of level one akuma, eventually getting backed into a cavern. Centrol had finished the akuma off with a slash from Honda while using that large floating sphere of innocence. Rumor has it that the sphere of innocence was Centrol's golem. People in the Order said her synchronization with her innocence was so strong; her golem became engulfed in it. I just say that her excess innocence…or…something; I don't know.

We had all burned our exorcist jackets to create heat, keeping the pins and clipping them onto our undershirts. For Terra, it was just her thin undershirt. Warren was keeping her warm by occasionally rubbing her shoulders, or pushing her closer to the fire. I had on my black sweater, which had sleeves on the forearm, so I was okay. I wasn't worried about Centrol; she wasn't rubbing anything on her body. I supposed her anger was keeping her warm enough. Our golems had small spears of ice on their wings, and they kept flapping their wings. We were just getting colder from the air! The snow was battering harshly against the cavern; I only dreaded what it was like outside.

"F—UCK!" I heard Warren spit, a cloud of steam rising from his lips. "Where the hell is Lavi when you need his ass?"

"Wh-wh-where's Kanda? He'd be more equipped to get us out than that stupid bunny." Centrol retorted, glaring upwards.

"F—UCK YOU! Lavi has Tessei, which means that he can use FIRE, which can get us out of here, you stupid, little, impudent twit!"

"Don't call me stupid, or little, or impudent, you idiotic cock jerker!"

"Hey, no talking about grabbing chickens in here!"

Everyone stopped their arguing and turned to Terra. Terra's cheeks were a bright red, and a thin line of snot was running down her nostrils to her cupid's bow. I grimaced, and ripped off a part of my arm warmer, tossing it to Terra. I couldn't stand it when a person didn't wipe their nose. I leaned back against the cold rock of the cavern, winced, and then sighed, taking the icy cold for what it was. It was our fault for not being cautious about our surroundings. Now we were trapped.

"F—UCK! M—MY LIFE!"

"Warren, stop cursing so much. We have a child here!" Terra gently wiped my arm warmer-made-tissue underneath her nose, wiping the glistening mucus from her upper lip. I heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Now she wasn't so hard to look at.

"Ah, shut up." Warren ruffled Terra's hair, and then the two huddled up on the opposite wall of the cavern, the one closest to the fire. "Come over here, you two. Centrol, Valencia."

Centrol stood up, and walked over, sitting next to Terra. I was sure that Terra was the lesser of the two evils. I sat next to Centrol, glancing at Warren's expectant face. What; did he want me to sit next to him? He's lecherous; if Kasura was here, I would have no problem sitting next to him. At least Kasura would protect me (and Terra) from Warren's advancements.

"H…Va…YOU? WHERE ARE YOU!"

"L-Lavi? Lavi; we're in a cave blocked by snow!" Warren yelled into the nearest golem, which was mine.

"…NO WAY! Y'know, just in case I can't find it, does this cavern have any markings on it?"

"…Snow!" Warren yelled out slowly. Centrol had her hands cupped over her ears; she was steadily getting irritated.

"I know there's snow; I'm in the damn drift looking for you! Wait, does it have a tree on top?"

"Yes, Lavi." I stated, pushing Warren aside. "It's an evergreen tree, with a large semi-circle cut into the bark. Please, try and hurry. We're very cold."

"And carnivorous!"

I heard Lavi using Tessei; I could hear the high-pitched whining that was the sign of it growing and expanding. He must have found the cavern faster than we thought. Or, perhaps, he was right in front of it, and just looking for confirmation. I shivered, and then the ground underneath us trembled. The snow in front of us got blasted inwards by a column of fire that barely grazed past us. Terra screamed loudly, and the fire that we had created ourselves blew upwards in a gale. Centrol stood up, holding Honda tightly in her palms.

"Innocence, activate! Golem sphere _Interruption!_"

The sphere of innocence was sliced by Honda's blade, and it flew forward, right into the pillar of flames. The pillar got divided, in halves, and the Golem sphere was holding its own, drawing the flames that escaped its sides back towards its body, which was the center. The Golem then drew the fire into its body, and like that, the pillar was gone. I looked outwards, and the sunlight was streaming in. Lavi must have used the seal to break the weather as well. Terra jumped up, and with a chipper giggle, ran out of the cavern and drew Lavi into a tight hug. He was blushing profusely; Terra's chest was tight pressed against his, as was her right cheek.

"Lavi, thank you! Thank you, bunny rabi!"

"T-Terra…n-no problem!"

Terra's orange locks were bouncing up and down as she started to jump, making Lavi stumble even more so than he would just having himself pressed against her. Warren stepped out as well, helping me out of the cavern. Centrol gathered her Golem Sphere, and the two exited on their own. Terra turned to me, and smiled, embracing me.

"Thank you for letting me use you as a tissue, Valencia!"

"Don't mention it; it was no problem at all." I said, a bit sarcastically. "Oh, Lavi. We burned our coats for heat, so we need Johnny to measure us when we get back to the Order; tell him that by golem or phone. Also, we need some food now, so let's hurry back to the closest town."

"Wow; way to take command, Valencia! I love you!"

Terra bounced in place beside me, and I just nodded, continuing out of the snow-laced land was had gotten ourselves backed into. Warren was following behind Terra, and Centrol had stayed back to say one thing to Lavi.

"You're a slow, stupid rabbit."

I heard Lavi's groan of surprise, feigning insult by Centrol's statement. I just smiled softly, and hurried along.

* * *

"And give me some curry, and maybe some veal if you have it! And perhaps some parfait and a tiny bit of rice, and some beef stew."

It was true what they said; parasitic-type Exorcists ate the most. I was eating some beef stew and spicy curry, as was Terra. Centrol was having rice and roasted chicken ramen. Lavi was just having beef skewers. It seemed that we were lucky for being so close to a tourist area, because they would make most anything. Warren and Terra were talking, and Centrol was staring out of the window, slurping her noodles noisily into her tiny little eight-year-old mouth. Lai had gone to the phones to call Johnny, and I…well, I was observing everything.

There was a shattered mug on the ground, and beer was seeping into the cracks in the floor. The bartender wasn't watching the chef. The chef was getting a drink of rum. There were no patrons in here, except for a creepy old man sitting at the bar, in the farthest stool. He was looking around, as well. I stood up, and started to approach the bar, without thinking. Without really knowing what I was doing. Before I knew it, my hand was over the hand of the man. His bald head was wrinkled, like someone had folded his whole head and then unraveled it, placing it back onto his neck.

"Who are you?" My eyes narrowed, free of my own will, and I drew my hand away. The man's aura had gone cold.

"Who are _you_?"

"Yeah, just who are you?" Lavi's hammer was large, just barely pushing through to the other floor of the eatery we were at. "Huh, Akuma?"

_Akuma? _It all happened quickly. The skin fell to the floor, bullets showered the room, and a level one akuma was there waiting for us.

And I didn't finish my meal.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm sorry; this chapter was boring. Second chapters are always the most boring.

It'll get better; I promise!

* * *

"Innocence, activate!"

The battle cry rang throughout the small eatery, and the level one akuma was propelled outside by Lavi's hammer. It was coasting upwards, and it had a sadistic grin on its face. It was close to becoming a level two, then. I crouched low to the ground, my Demonic Bracers activated, two large black wings seeming to originate from two shackles on my ankles. I flew upwards, my other Bracers covering my fingers in silver chains. Terra's innocence had spread around everyone, feathers seeming to fall to the ground like long, white snowflakes. Centrol had already jumped upwards, Honda glowing with Centrol's innocence. The barrels of the guns were aimed at Centrol and I, and I scooped up Centrol and glided off, the air becoming thick with violet bullets. Some of Terra's feathers were being shot out of the sky, and I had just noticed that my ankle had been hit with one of the bullets. It seemed that the Bracer on my ankle was slowly rectifying the situation.

"Warren, do it now!" Centrol yelled downwards, and a winding path of four ribbons came upwards, subduing the barrels of the level one that was just so close to becoming a level two. "Hey, you finally did something right!"

"Eat my asshole, short-stuff!"

"Enough fighting. Terra, you can go ahead!"

I watched the sky light up in a pattern of small bright lights, all becoming longer, and apparently sharper. I could see the needle-like tips, and they had soon permeated the air with their soft glow. The needles shot through the air, all piercing the akuma, but not through its mask. The akuma seemed to be shocked; its eyes as wide as its mouth. I had stopped flying around our small battlefield, and I watched as I saw the handle of Lavi's hammer steadily approaching. Lavi was riding upwards, and he stopped just in front of us.

"Hey, you guys are cleared to go. But, why all this work for a level one?"

"Shut up!" Centrol said, lashing out at Lavi. "Why didn't you just take it out yourself, if you're so concerned about how we do it?"

"Let's not let anger cloud our duties. Centrol, you deal the final blow."

"Oh, fine."

I felt my bracers grow hot against my arms, and I winced gently. This was the downside to my innocence; the bracers would become so hot, that my skin would be red, raw, and scarred once I took my bracers off. I lifted Centrol above my head, and she maneuvered Honda into place, the green flame of innocence covering the blade.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go!"

I lifted Honda above my head, and tossed her down with the strength that my Bracers had given me. A small whisper of the wind was heard as she sailed through the air towards the akuma that was tied in place. Lavi and I watched as she lifted Honda high above her head, and then sliced downwards, flying past the valley that the two halves of the akuma made. The grotesque creature groaned, and then blew up in a spectacular show of flames. I watched as Warren caught Centrol, her small body cradled in his arms. Terra had run over to see if the small child was alright, even if we had done the procedure so many times.

"And that's all she wrote, huh Valencia?"

"…I guess so."

I regarded Lavi with a smile, and then deactivated my Innocence, my Bracers returning to normal. The burning had become too much for me; it was even more forceful than the last time. Sometimes, my innocence would hurt me, for no reason. Other times, it would be completely calm. I didn't understand. I had asked Hevlaska to reevaluate my synchronization rate, but that was a week ago. I was sure she had drawn out her patience. However, Hevlaska is always a very patient creature. She wouldn't have tossed my needs aside like that, would she?

I snapped out of my thoughts, and noticed that I was in Lavi's left arm, looking upwards at the clouds forming overhead. The handle of Tessei had just made it to ground level, and Lavi hopped off along with me. Tessei returned to the size where it could be in its hip pouch, and I looked to Terra, who was fingering her necklace fondly. Warren was rubbing his arm wraps, and cleaning some soot off of them with the combination of his thumb and his spit. Centrol sheathed Honda, and her floating sphere of innocence was right beside her head. Lavi looked to us; all of us. Terra, Centrol, and I had our hair tussled, some of it red with blood from our more intense battle near the cavern. Our coats were gone; we were cold, and Centrol was getting more pale and sick. Warren's cheeks were caked with blood, as were his arm wraps. Lavi seemed to furrow his brow at us, and I tried to smooth my hair back. To no avail.

"We should get going. Lavi, thank you for your help." I was surprised to see that Centrol had said it. She must have been getting sick.

"No problem! Let's go before you all get sick!"

Terra nodded, and bounced along behind Lavi, her green eyes still vibrant against a physically exhausted body. It was a strange combination. Centrol looked up to me with a defiant glare, and I stared downwards at her. Then she slowly lifted her arms upwards, and I placed her onto my back, starting to carry her along the way. Warren flanked us, looking back to make sure no more akuma were following us. I shivered, the cold finally biting my skin once more. The five of us traveled towards the south-west, towards England.

* * *

After a few cities, rest stops, and hotels, we made it back to the Order within a matter of days. By that time, Centrol had come down with a full-blown cold, Terra had sprained her ankle and come up with a limp, and Warren had lost a good ten pounds. Setting him underweight. I, on the other hand, had split my eyelid, and had worn an eye patch made of cotton cloth for a couple of days. Also, I had hurt my right arm by getting it twisted backwards, so much that I couldn't carry Centrol the whole way to the Black Order. Lavi had to carry Centrol's weight. We were all in dirty clothes, our hair was matted and tattered, and our scents were less than pleasant.

"Ugh, you guys reek!" Lavi said, pinching his nose gently. It was in a teasing matter, but we were all pretty pissed off.

"Fuck off, you red-haired cock sucker." Warren spat, his blue eyes narrowed down to smoldering slits.

"Whoa, whoa! Okay, let's just get inside, shall we?"

"Fuck you." Centrol rasped, aiming a sheathed Honda at Lavi's head. "I swear, you're so annoying!"

"Hey, an eight-year-old shouldn't talk like that! You've been around Warren too much!"

"I'll fucking kill you." Warren and Centrol deadpanned, making Lavi shiver. Terra was laughing, and I was just staring at the door, its eyes opening slowly.

"Welcome back! You guys stink!"

"LET US IN!" Warren, Centrol, and I screamed. Personally, I was getting tired of being told that I smelled like a pile of crap.

"Ah, ah! P-P-PASS!"

The door to the Order opened, and I carried Centrol inside first. Terra followed, and Warren was glaring at the back of Lavi's head. Once we were all inside, we started to head straight for the showers. I saw Kanda down the hallway, and the look in Centrol's tired eyes let me know that she still wanted to see him before she went to clean herself up. I just hiked right past him, and then heard his heavy footsteps stop. I looked back to him, my face showing signs of my fatigue.

"Go shower. You smell like shit."

I felt my eyebrow quirk upwards, and I ignored Kanda's blatant comment, just staring to hike upwards towards the showers again. I was ignoring everyone; the finders, the science department.

"Hello? I was just wondering…what was…" Everyone except the new kid. He had white hair, and silver eyes that were curious. About… "That smell? It's peculiar!"

"Buzz off, kid."

That snide hiss had come from Centrol who was half asleep. I bounced her lightly, and then made it upstairs after a while, even with my arm. It was hurting me, and I couldn't wait to take off my bracers and rest in my bed, smelly as hell or not.


End file.
